BA Spanish and Yiddish
About this course
Spanish and Yiddish is an unusual and historically resonant combination. Spanish is one of the world's most widely spoken languages, extending across Spain and Latin America and carrying a literary tradition that spans the medieval romancero through Golden Age drama and poetry to the richly varied fiction and poetry of the twentieth century. Yiddish is the vernacular language of Ashkenazi Jewish communities, a language with a powerful and often tragic history that is also home to a rich literary and theatrical tradition stretching from Eastern European shtetl culture through the twentieth century's literary flowering before the Holocaust and into post-war revival. The two languages and cultures intersect in significant ways, not least through the history of Sephardic Jews who carried Spanish into the Mediterranean world. At University College London, this four-year full-time joint honours BA divides equally between Spanish and Yiddish. You will develop competence in both languages across speaking, listening, reading, writing, and translation, alongside modules in cultural topics including literature, history, film, linguistics, and politics from both traditions. The wide range of modules allows you to tailor the degree to your particular interests. In your third year you will spend a year abroad, divided between contexts where your languages are spoken, giving you immersive experience and cultural depth that enriches everything you have studied in the classroom. With a typical entry tariff of 168 UCAS points, this is a competitive programme at one of the leading universities in the country for language study. Graduates from Spanish and Yiddish programmes bring a distinctive and rare profile to the job market. Translation and interpreting, journalism, academic research, heritage and cultural work, Jewish cultural institutions, international organisations, publishing, and education are all natural destinations. The rarity of Yiddish expertise is itself a distinction. Postgraduate study in linguistics, cultural studies, area studies, or translation is available for those who wish to go further.
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